Greater New Orleans

Brenda Byrd, left, and Sheila Joiner, both of Kenner, were arrested early Wednesday morning for allegedly allowing Byrd's 10-year-old grandson to drive them home because they were too intoxicated, authorities say.
(Kenner Police Department)

Kenner police tracking a sport utility vehicle driving recklessly down Interstate 10 early Wednesday morning were shocked to find a 10-year-old boy behind the wheel. The diminutive driver was chauffeuring his intoxicated grandmother and her friend, said Sgt. Brian McGregor, a police spokesman.

Witnesses on westbound I-10 called authorities about 1:15 a.m. after seeing the vehicle driving slowly down the highway and onto the Williams Boulevard exit in Kenner. The SUV slowed further but swerved in and out of the roadway while driving toward 32nd Street then on to Arkansas Avenue. Kenner Police stopped the vehicle in the 1300 block of 31st Street, McGregor said.

But instead of an impaired driver, they found the 10-year-old in the driver's seat. Along for the ride was the boy's grandmother, Brenda Byrd, 54, and Sheila Joiner, 48, both of Kenner, McGregor said. The boy's 15-year-old brother was also in the vehicle.

Officers asked the women why the younger boy was driving. Byrd and Joiner said they told him to drive because they were too intoxicated, McGregor said.

Byrd and Joiner, both of 1013 31st St., Kenner, were booked with contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle. Byrd's grandchildren were taken into protective custody, McGregor said.